Hey folks, I’ve got some news to share with you.
As The Graham Star heads body into 2022, they will be doing it without me, as I will have officially left the paper by the time you read this column.
In mid-October, I applied to the master’s of science in information science program (basically a fancy library degree) at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and in early November, as I was covering a car accident in Murphy for my duties with the Cherokee Scout, I learned that I was accepted.
As such, I will be moving to Knoxville in January to begin this new chapter. While saying that I’m excited would be an understatement, it’s still hard to say goodbye to these mountains and the sense of community in small-town Appalachia.
I thank everyone I’ve ever dealt with here for being forthcoming, at least acting like you enjoyed being interviewed and entrusting me with your stories even though I’m clearly not from around here.
Thank you for explaining what “you’uns” means and giving this Mississippi flatlander stern warnings about safely driving in the mountains and in real winter weather.
Thank you for teaching me about ramps, trout and blackberries, and sharing your gardens’ produce with me in the summer. Thank you for telling me where to go for the best mountain views and warning me about Jacob’s Ladder on the Appalachian Trail before I pushed myself too far. Thank you for coming out to my gigs and showing your support the times I played down in Andrews.
In addition I would like to thank a few specific people. To Kevin Hensley, thanks for taking me on board and keeping me around this past year, not to mention serving as our fearless leader and laughing at my incessant, asinine puns.
To Diane West, thanks for holding the Star together as our business manager and for being the best “unofficial office” mom ever.
To Debbie Dills, I will continue to say “spreading the mayonnaise thin,” forever.
To Art Miller, thank you for being such a good guide for this community, and for always being ready to capture those magic moments through that massive Nikon. Best of luck in your retirement, Art.
Also, to David Brown and Penny Ray down at the Scout, thanks for leading by example and pushing me to be the best I could be. I hope I lived up to it, at least some of the time.
Now this next section may be the most important in this column. No, wait, this section is the most important in the column.
Even as I leave the industry and go back to school after six years, four papers and three states, I urge you to continue supporting The Graham Star and local media as a whole. Times haven’t been easy for the industry lately and Graham County really does have something special here.
I hope you will continue to subscribe, read and and remember us. We need it and you do too.
Season’s Greetings and thank you.
Charlie Benton wrote for The Graham Star for one year.